<~> Chapter 91Fae and Silva hadn't e out of the carriage they had been hiding in until roup got there. I wouldn't say they looked particurly shaken, they were just being reasonably cautious as far as I could tell. Fae held the front of her hood down as we escorted her to the room all of us would be sharing for the night. I didn't imagihe young noble was happy about being assigo sleep in the same room as her rabbitkin bodyguard again but she didn't act like it bothered her. She was a noble, perhaps she had some form of skill that made her emotions harder to read.

  I gently closed the door behind us. This room was a bit rger than the one we slept in the previous day but not by much. All six of us sharing this room would be a bit cramped. Everyone looked exhausted. Travelling all day is pretty tiring on its own but traveling in the rain and that st stretch after fighting that rge monster created a lot of tension and ay. Not to mentiohe people wearing bck armor that clearly seemed to be searg for Fae here.

  There was tension in this room as well, Fae's ueo the twins sihey hadn't spoken mu front of her yet. To her they were just servants and the more she looked at them that way the more the twins started to act like that. It robably uional, they were just falling ba their old training. The thought made me internally grimace.

  The oppressive atmosphere then disappeared, nearly as quickly as it had first appeared when Torien's stomach loudly rumbled. She blushed and turned away and Man burst into ughter, taking all of the tension along with her.

  I smiled wryly and grabbed the handle of the door. "It sounds like we're pretty hungry in here. Why don't I go see how long it'll be until dinner is ready?"

  The twins jumped up simultaneously and spoke in unison. "No! We'll go ha Lilith!"

  I raised an eyebrow at the twins, fused why this suddenly seemed to matter to them more than usual. Oh... Maybe they feel the o be more formal and follow etiquette now that we are front of a noble. I had mixed feelings about that but maybe it was for the best right now.

  I put my hand on Torien's shoulder and quietly spoke to her. "Thanks for breaking the ice there, things were getting awkward."

  She blushed and looked away. "It's not like I want to make a fool of myself..."

  I ruffled her hair, normally I wouldn't do something like that to the serious cat girl but she was so shaken from her embarrassment I knew I would get away with it this time. Frankly, she was being so cute I couldn't help it.

  Letting her off the hook I decided to ge the subject. "Will the two of you be enough t back six portions?"

  "Uhh..." Man g Bel, probably sidering asking for help.

  I decided to make it easier for her. "Bel, do you mind going with the twins? Six bowls is probably a bit much to carry."

  "Sure." Bel got up ahe twins out of the room.

  "You are very geh your servants." Fae sat down on the edge of one of the cots huddled in the room, Silva took the cot farthest from her oher edge of the room.

  I smiled. "To me they are friends first."

  Fae looked doained expression broke her stoic expression for a moment before she regained trol. Perhaps some of her servants had also been friends before the ordeal that had her flee from her home. She robably unsure if any of them were still alive. Whether they were or not, her iion was to flee the try now, there retty high ce she would never see them again.

  I sat dowo her and pced my hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

  "...I'm fine."

  I nodded aly gripped her shoulder. She wasn't fine. No one who answers like that ever is. The only thing I was unsure about was whether it was a good idea to push her into talking about it or not. After a moment I decided against it, the wound robably too fresh. She was still trying to survive, pushio front her lht now might just get in the way. Luckily my friends returned with our food and eased the heavy atmosphere.

  Torien sat dowo Silva and offered her one of the bowls with a smile. Bel shared one her bowls with the young girl and Man brought me my portion. She gave me a hesitant smile and ed her long cat tail around my waist while we ate together.

  "I brought you a bowl of stew with meat. Bel told me that you two actually eat it, despite how you look," she told me quietly.

  I smiled at her. "Yeah, it's my preferehanks Man." Maly leaned her shoulder against mine, a subtle gesture for an onlooker but it felt pretty intimate uhe circumstances. I sighed. "Sorry things are w out like this again, I had hoped things would be more private on this trip."

  "It's okay. I'm tent with how things are right now. I khere would be challenges like these when I asked you for it." Her tail squeezed tighter around me for a moment. "I don't mind this pace... It makes things a bit easier to ease into. Even this is much is more than I could have asked for."

  I looked over at the young noble girl who seems to have grown a bit attached to Bel. Perhaps she reminded her of someone from her past. Since we first met her she's always seemed to feel the most fortable around my deer girl. Torien oher hand has been chatting quite a bit with Silva, they seem to be oy good terms so far. Torieo have a prickly attitude towards other people sometimes, so it was reassuring to see her get along with our new potential party member. Provided things go well of course.

  And then there was Man. She's been trying to get closer to me the st few days but unfortuhings have not been easy for her with everything that's been going on. I was starting to feel like it had been a mistake to e on this trip as a guard but at the same time I wouldn't have felt fortable doing nothing while being attacked by the mohat had been chasing us earlier in the day. Doing things this way gave me a bit more trol over the situation.

  After we finished eating all of us went to bed a bit earlier than usual. The day was exhausting for everyoh the stress of the rain and the battle against the stream stalker. The fact there were mohat got that big was a bit of a wake up call, I'm not sure what we would have done if we had been all by ourselves at the time. When we were being attacked everyone seemed so focused and executed a pn without coordinating mu the moment. It was rather impressive.

  I was lying in bed alone for ohinking about everything that had gone on since I came on this trip, the dungeon, and before... In some ways it had been exhausting, trial after trial. In other ways it had been refreshing, I was seeihings, expl new pces. A of all I've been able to find people I truly feel fortable with. Bel, Man, Mimi, even Torien has bee a close friend to me.

  While I was lost in my thoughts I heard Fae tossing and turning and start to cry in her sleep. She had vinced Bel to allow her to push their cots clether while they slept. Bel was now hugging the girl and shushing her back to sleep. As magical and fantastical this world was, Fae was an example of how cruel this world could be. Svery, death, monsters, demons... Williamson... My feelings about this world were quite flig.

  I rolled over a myself drift to sleep.

  ***

  I was the first to wake up in the m again. I didn't really need much sleep in the first pd everything has kept me on edge tely. I quietly got dressed, pulled my sketchbook out of my bag, and grabbed Mimi before slipping out of the room.

  I rested my haly on Mimi's hilt before speaking to her through [Soultouched e].

  -- "How are you doing Mimi?" --

  -- "I'm doing good! There's been lots of iing things to see on this trip!" --

  I smiled. -- "I'm sorry you haven't been able to talk out loud to the others much tely." --

  -- "It's alright. I tell there aren't many others like me around and a lot of the other mimics that people saw were attag others when we were at the dungeon. I don't want to be fused with a mean mimic. I don't mind serving energy and watg everyone." --

  I climbed up the stairs to the fort's battlements. It was still early m, twilight before the sun actually rose over the horizon. I o the m watd sat down on the edge of the battlements after pulling out my sketchbook. It had been a long time since I had gotten a ce to draw a little.

  -- "I'm gd you're so uanding, not everyone would be fortable just watg from the outside all of the time," -- I said to Mimi.

  I felt aowledgement pulse through our e before she tinued. -- "Everything is so o me anyway. Every day I'm getting to see hings. While I might be happier if I could openly talk or sleep in the same bed as my friends, even being close to everyone is enough for me. I am so much happier than I was in the lower floors of the dungeon. Where the only... living things around me were other mimics who were mindless creatures that only wao attack me. I had no oo talk to and I felt so alone. Even if we 't talk all the time, I treasure the attention you give me in quiet moments like this. Avoiding talking in front of others is a small price to pay for everything you've done for me in the short time we've known each other." --

  Tears formed in my eyes and I felt my chest tighten as her heartfelt gratitude flowed through our e. The feeling was so powerful that I almost sidered closing the e. Instead I just sniffed a bay drawing, letting our shared feelings settle in my heart.

  I turhe page away from the ndscape I had beeg and instead started blog in a sketimi from my memories of her humanoid form. I had to admit, drawing purely from memory wasn't my stro suit but our little talk in the quiet moments of the m inspired me to capture her image on my page. I spent around 30 minutes before I felt happy with the result. Charcoal isn't the best medium for detailed work but I think I did a good job capturing her likeness.

  [Drawing has increased from level 11 to level 12]

  I nudged Mimi to borrow my sight ahe drawing I had done of her. Once she had I felt a small storm of emotions flow over to me. Surprise, gratitude, happiness, i, pride... love.

  -- "Is that what I look like?..." -- she asked.

  -- "At least, the best I do at capturing it." --

  The emotions I felt from her swelled once again, causio smile as I felt tears gather in my eyes once again.

  -- "Lilith... Thank you." --

  -- "You're welimi. Lets keep doing our best, together." --

  -- "T-together." --

  Saine

  Hello! Gotta che with poor Mimi, it's easy tet about the cute mimic when she's hiding away all the time. chapter we get more traveling and as well as an iing development. I'll see you ime, thanks for reading!

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